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Ontario pork producers taking part in biosecurity training program

An estimated 40 percent of pork producers in Ontario have completed the first stage of a national biosecurity training program that was launched in mid-2011.

Interest in the National Biosecurity Training Program, which was developed by the Canadian Swine Health Board for use in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba, has remained strong since its inception, according to Farmscape.com.

"The training will cover all aspects of biosecurity, dealing first with how staff and visitors are getting on farm and into the barns, as well as controlling disease spread by pigs and other indirect sources such as equipment, rodents, pests; those sorts of things," Dr. Mike DeGroot, the biosecurity coordinator for Ontario Pork, said, Farmscape.com reports. "For the in-class sessions of the National Biosecurity Training Program there's about 950 producers trained in Ontario and for the vet visits, the on-site visits done by the veterinarian, over 500 sites have been completed."

DeGroot said that the program gives individual farmers a forum to discuss how to improve biosecurity practices with veterinarians.

"The training program is being delivered by veterinarians in an in-class session to begin with and then veterinarians are doing an on farm vet visit to suggest improvements for each farm," DeGroot said, Farmscape.com reports.